The National Rifle Association is now coming again into promi-
nence. It deserves support, and ample support can only be obtained by ample publicity. At the general meeting on the 15th, Lord Her- bert of Lea presided, and made a speech, in which he urged the claims of the association for ampler assistance than has hitherto been provided. There are only 1548 members of the association, whereas the Agricultural Society- has 4600 members, the Botanical Society 2294, and the Zoolwical Society, with 1771 members, has an income of 1500/. a year. 'The National Rifle Association does not repre- sent a class interest, but the cause of national defence, and none of the societies have greater claims on the public. "Our association aims at inspiring the whole male population with a love of arms, and at giving them skill in using weapons which must contribute mate- rially to the safety and security of the country. At the close of my presidency I must say that I wish I could have given more time to it, and have been more of a working bee ; but at the same time, al- though I could not profess, circumstanced as I am, to devote much time to the details and operations of the association, I still felt that in the office which I hold the mere conveyance of the cordial concur- rence of the Government in the objects of the association was valuable in a public point of view. On my accession to office in June, 1859, there were, I think, 13 corps in existence, numbering only 1500 members. There is at this moment a corps for every man then under arms—viz. 1500 corps, while the members of whom they are com- posed amount nearly to 140,000. This grntifing result has been in a great measure due to my noble friend Lord de Grey, who, as you
know, devoted such exertions to the encouragement and assistance of those engaged in the practical work of raising these corps. . . . During last year a great accession was made to the defensive power of the country. We have had our fortifications put in order, and thereby added to the general security of the nation. We have had a considerable increase in the regular forces in this country; but what is, perhaps, most remarkable in connexion with our defensive power is the enormous success with which the citizens of Great Britain, at the cost not only of their money, but of their time, have transformed themselves into formidable bodies of troops." The account of the finances shows that the association had received 84521. of which 33001. represent life subscriptions ; and that the expenditure has been 7337/. leaving 1114/. and upwards as a balance in the hands of the bankers. The cost of preparing the ground at Wimbledon having been very great, it has been resolved, partly with a view to economy, to hold the prize meeting again at Wimbledon this year. The association, however, retains, as it ought, the right to fix upon any other place of meeting. The next president is the Duke of Cam- bridge.
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